Please note that some of these contain what could be considered minor spoilers.

1 – No penalties and no free kicks = this is not soccer, I’m sorry. This leads to the players NEVER getting injured which in turns lead to not ever having to change players in the middle of a match.

2 – All matches’ halves end exactly at 45:00 with no injury time. This leads to all sorts of stupid situations, like the match ending a fraction of second before the ball would’ve entered the goal.

3 – The fact that superstar players can boost all their skills to 1000 is just bad design, especially considering that they don’t cost “THAT” much. Eventually you’ll end up with a team that only has superstar players (probably not on first playthrough, though) and even while you’re getting there, after very few leagues, there’s little to no point in investing training on players that are NOT superstars.

4 – On field AI is mediocre at best. I’ve seen players with maxed skills making idiotic passes or throwing the ball out almost “on purpose”.

5 – Although different formations (like 4-4-2, 4-3-3) will probably alter the way your team plays against other formations, player ratings seem to matter so much more that changing module is almost useless. The fact that keeping your old coach makes him level up, seems an incentive for sticking with the same module/coach forever.

6 – There are absolutely no random events. I mean, what the hell were the devs thinking? A soccer simulation game with no random events and no injuries?

7 – Point 6 is reflected even in the actual game match: the best team will win WAY too often, and draws are much, much fewer than they would be in real life.

8 – Although goals are often spectacular and the graphics are generally a treat, the variety of the actual goals scored is very limited, and you’ll want to switch to the Fast visualization mode ASAP. Oh, too bad, you can do it only on your second playthrough. Whatever.

9 – The game doesn’t really follow any set schedule. You just decide when to participate in leagues and cup matches. This creates anti-climatic gameplay, because you just grind training before you feel you can beat a certain cup/league and when you feel you can beat it, you play it. Penalties for losing are so little they are negligible.

10 – Seasons after the first are really where the game totally breaks apart. First, you get a headstart with a player coming over from your old team FOR FREE PLUS the fact that you can hire your old players with ALREADY VERY HIGH STATS (so they won’t need much training). The second playthrough will be a breeze and you’ll probably beat the last cup years before the 7 years pass. Not a very exciting New Game+ I’d say.

So, even after having quite a handful of ecstatic and fun moments with PLS, especially on the first playthrough, I honestly regret having bought it. It’s definitely too shallow and full of stupid design choices to be recommended. You want a rating? No more than 5/10 and I’m feeling generous.